DaVita Continues Clinical Outcomes Industry Leadership in 2011
December 21 2011 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading provider of kidney care
services that is committed to improving the quality of life for
those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), today announced
key milestones achieved in 2011 that have resulted in improved
patient care.
“Quite simply, our patients generally live longer and enjoy a
better quality of life than they would have 10 years ago,” said Dr.
Allen R. Nissenson, DaVita’s chief medical officer. “This success
is the result of a comprehensive, coordinated, focused
approach to delivering high quality kidney care."
DaVita® has a holistic approach to kidney care that is
patient-centric and considers all aspects of the quality of
treatment. As a result, for 11 consecutive years DaVita patients
have demonstrated improved annual clinical results in several
critical areas, including survival rates, bone and mineral
metabolism management, dialysis adequacy and preventative care such
as immunizations.
Such landmark achievements in 2011 include the following:
- DaVita QIP Tops Dialysis
Industry – In late December, the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2012 End-Stage Renal Disease
Quality Improvement Program (QIP) Performance Measures results. The
ratings are based on anemia management and dialysis adequacy, and
the results showed that DaVita significantly outperformed the rest
of the industry in QIP performance measures with 76 percent of the
company’s clinics ranking in the top clinical performance
tier.
- DaVita Improves URR by 64 Percent in
2011 – Urea Reduction Ratio (URR) is a measure of how
effectively a dialysis treatment removes waste from the body and is
commonly expressed as a percentage. While there is no fixed
percentage to represent “adequate dialysis,” studies have shown
that patients with a URR of 65 percent or greater are less likely
to suffer from such symptoms as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite,
weakness or mental confusion; have fewer hospitalizations; and live
longer. At the end of 2011, DaVita reported that only 2.7 percent
of its patients – an all-time low – are below the 65 percent
baseline – a 64 percent improvement over January 2011.
- DaVita’s CathAway™ Program Saves
Lives – DaVita has made landmark progress in reducing patient
central venous catheter (CVC) rates, a major risk factor for
serious infection in kidney patients. In 2008, DaVita established
CathAway, the company's seven-step program for reducing the number
of hemodialysis patients with catheters. Since the inception of the
program, DaVita has witnessed a 30
percent reduction in the number of "Day 90+" catheter
patients (i.e., those patients who have been dialyzing at DaVita
for 90 days or more using a catheter for dialysis access) and the
company is now at an all-time low catheter rate of 15.6 percent in
November 2011. Kidney and hemodialysis experts consider the fistula
– a surgically connected passageway between an artery and a vein
that can be used as an access point for dialysis treatments – the
"gold standard" access choice, and research studies have
demonstrated patients with fistulas have the fewest complications,
such as infections and clotting, compared to all other hemodialysis
access choices. DaVita leads the industry in the use of
fistulas.
- DaVita Vaccination Rates Lead the
Industry – Based on the 2010 USRDS Annual Data Report
(reporting claims-based data from 2008), renal industry vaccination
rates for influenza and pneumonia were 66.5 percent and 25.2
percent, respectively. Reporting from the same data, DaVita's
influenza vaccination rate was at 72.9 percent and its pneumonia
vaccination rate was 36.4 percent for 2008. At the end of the first
quarter of 2011, DaVita internal tracking shows that it has
vaccinated 90.9 percent of its patients for influenza and 90.4
percent of its patients for pneumonia. In November, DaVita
announced they exceeded their goal for patient vaccinations early
in the flu season, with 90.4 of patients already immunized for the
flu. Studies have shown that high vaccination rates relate directly
to fewer hospitalizations, which can lead to a better quality of
life for dialysis patients.
- DaVita Reduces Gross Mortality
Rates – Through its coordinated approach to patient care that
includes patient education and management; focus on fistula
placements; spotlight on key vaccinations; relentless focus on
improving clinical outcomes; and DaVita’s commitment to physician
support (through per-intercommunication, focused clinical education
and administrative guidance) and extensive teammate training,
DaVita lowered its gross mortality rates. Based on its own internal
data, since 2001, DaVita has reduced mortality rates for patients
by nearly 20 percent.
- Allen Nissenson Receives AAKP Medal
of Excellence Award – The American Association of Kidney
Patients presented the AAKP Medal of Excellence Award to Allen R.
Nissenson, MD, FACP, chief medical officer at DaVita. This
prestigious honor recognizes nephrologists who have made
significant contributions to the advancement and enhancement of
patient care. Since joining DaVita in 2008, Dr. Nissenson
established National Quality Week and other communication channels
with medical directors to improve the quality and safety of patient
care. He has been an influential public policy advocate for kidney
care patients, and he has worked extensively to promote early
detection in the broader community.
- DaVita Presents Abstracts at ASN’s
Kidney Week 2011 – DaVita presented 11 study results from
innovative clinical improvement programs and health economic
analyses at this year’s American Society of Nephrology’s (ASN)
Kidney Week in Philadelphia. ASN’s Kidney Week is the world’s
premier nephrology meeting and serves as a platform for more than
13,000 kidney professionals from around the globe to exchange
knowledge, learn the latest scientific and medical advances, and
listen to leading experts in the field.
DaVita and CathAway are trademarks or registered trademark of
DaVita Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
About DaVita
DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500® company, is a leading provider of
kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to
patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease.
DaVita strives to improve patients’ quality of life by innovating
clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans,
personalized care teams and convenient health-management services.
As of Sept. 30, 2011, DaVita operated or provided administrative
services at 1,777 dialysis facilities, serving approximately
138,000 patients. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to
creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the
world. The company’s leadership development initiatives and social
responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern
Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For more information, please
visit www.davita.com.
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